End of the Beginning
by Phankam
Summary: (On Hiatus) The Auror Office is trying hard to make the new disappearances happening seem unimportant, but the death of a well-known Ministry official and his wife just can't be put in the same category. Not with them being purebloods. Not with them being the Malfoys. (On Hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own HP. JK Rowling and Warner Bros. do._

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><p>Only one thing was clear in his mind: he had to run if he wanted to survive. The forest was dark but still he didn't dare ignite the tip of the wand he was carrying in fear that he would be seen, so instead he kept on tripping over the gigantic roots of the ancient trees that so often had served as a hiding place in his early childhood games. His bare feet were throbbing from the pain, every fiber fighting to keep on running, trying to erase the horrible noise of Death flying towards him, whispering for him to come closer, to stay quiet and just embrace it, feeling it in the air, keeping up the impression that his attacker was still on his track.<p>

The only thing that kept him from being totally immersed in his flight was the pain from the previous events: the memory of his Mother falling dead in front of him kept haunting him, replaying in his mind permanently, his eyes still dry but his heart aching like it had never done before.

His pace started to fall steadily, his ears listening to the absolute silence of the forest, waiting for his predator to finish him off. He halted to a stop, dropping to his knees in exhaustion. Was he being followed? He thought not: if he was, he would've probably been killed already, wouldn't he? Whoever had broken into his home –his heart tightened painfully at the memories- was surely a talented dueler, and he reckoned he wasn't about to me stopped at the presence of a defenseless teenager like him.

He clutched tightly onto his mother's wand and for the first time since this nightmare had started, he allowed himself to think.

"Who would've thought that all I've learned in school is of little or no use in real life." He muttered to himself, sitting with his back on a tree, still panting heavily. Maybe he could go back and use the fireplace, he thought, but then again, who said he wasn't still there? It'd be foolish to risk it. He couldn't just stay in the forest, and he didn't know how to Apparate or create a Portkey. What about going back and dueling…?

"You don't stand a chance." He mumbled to himself, shaking his head. That would just make his Mother's sacrifice worthless.

It was a cruel movie replaying in his mind, her running into his room and urging him to run. He hadn't even thought of bringing his wand with him, and as both of them ran down the stairs to the front door he realized his mistake. It was that split second that he doubted at the doorway about what to do and turned around to get it that he appeared. Death was silent but visible, the green light approaching so fast he couldn't understand how his Mother had reacted so quickly.

And his dear Father, killed as well. He had seen the corpse on the drawing room's floor, eyes wide open, wand still clutched as he had tried to keep his life going. He didn't look back though, and throwing a couple hasty spells over his shoulder he ran for his life.

Everything hurt as his senses started coming back. Pain ran through his whole body, from his destroyed feet to his sore muscles. What was he supposed to do? He had no way to run unless he went back and grabbed his broom, but if the attacker was still there, wouldn't it make his mom's sacrifice worthless?

His situation seemed oddly like Harry Potter's, he thought bitterly. His father dead, and his mother dying to protect him, his—

Harry Potter! How had he not thought of him! Well, he didn't personally know the man in question, but he knew who could help him no matter what. He looked at his mother's wand and held it even tighter, putting it close to his lips.

"Weasley… I need help… please, help…" he said softly, trying to focus on happy memories, but they wouldn't come. His patronus was weak and disappeared immediately. He closed his eyes, remembering the one he was trying to contact, the one who had opened him all those doors his family had closed on him. He just had to survive for the sake of his family, to make it all worth it. It wasn't a happy thought: it was a strange ambition that filled him up. "Weasley, I need help… please…" his voice was stronger this time, filled with this desire. "Expecto Patronum!"

He barely saw the silver weasel erupting from his wand and jumping out of sight before he passed out.

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><p>Summer nights lately had been lovely, but the fact that he had to spend them working wasn't exactly pleasurable. His eyelids were heavy as he was falling asleep, and he had to fight desperately in order to stay awake.<p>

Night shifts were the worst thing that could happen to an Auror, especially considering that nothing of importance had happened for several years.

"Stupid boss…" Nash muttered under his breath, standing up to fix himself some coffee. He had joined the Auror Squad just about five years before, when he had just finished his studies at Hogwarts. He had been immediately accepted because of his excellent grades and recommendation letters from his Professors: He had been ecstatic to start, and even more to meet his childhood hero: Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Of course, Mr Potter wasn't much of a boy anymore, and the Auror field wasn't as exciting as he had always thought it'd be.

He poured the dark liquid into his favorite cup, the one he had gotten as a birthday present from his little niece, and sat down, just waiting for _something_ to happen… 'Too bad that's unlikely', he thought, bitterly. He knew living in quiet times was something to be happy about, but he also wished to put his knowledge into practice.

His only consolation was that there were just two more hours before his shift was over and he could finally go home and catch up with his sleep… just two more hours. He could surely take it.

He was startled when a sudden brightness filled the room and a silver Jack Russell terrier arrived in scene.

"Nash, set up the squad, I'll arrive shortly. We have an emergency." Weasley's voice echoed across the empty department, and he stood up immediately.

"Emergency, report to office, EXPECTO PATRONUM!" his wand ignited immediately at the memory of being named Head Boy of the year, and three silver eagles soared across the offices and disappeared of sight. His heart was beating fast and his hands had started to sweat. He heard footsteps running down the corridor, and he kept his wand raised, just in case.

The freckled face of his boss, Ron Weasley, appeared in sight. He looked as if he had just run a mile, breathing heavily. He didn't say a word as loud cracking noises came from somewhere in the building, and soon enough three more Aurors appeared, his best friend Lupin amongst them.

"What is it?" he asked with wand in hand, looking extremely tired. "What happened, Ron?"

"There's been an attack." Ron managed to say, leading the way out. It always annoyed Nash how he never explained things, but he wasn't about to complain: he had been wishing something happened all night long, after all.

"What are you talking about?" O'Halloran, the only woman in their squad, asked. She looked as if she had just gotten up, her blonde hair still tied in a lazy ponytail. Her dark eyes moved quickly from side to side, as if she was expecting to be attacked any moment.

"Look, I can't explain right now, not until I receive the orders… I've been put in charge of leading the group." Ron said tiredly, looking as if he couldn't believe what was going on.

"Ron, what is happening?" Ted finally cracked, grabbing Weasley's arm. He was pale, and looked rather nervous. "Is it the Death Eaters?"

Of course, that wasn't possible, even though the idea had come to Nash's own mind, but they had finished chasing the remaining ones, and there was no way they could've acted undetected: there were still sensors in their homes, so if any of them decided to act, they could be easily caught.

"It can't be, I'd have known!" Nash said, looking at the other people in the corridor. Weasley didn't say a word, just sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened, I just got... a call, I... my daughter got a Patronus and she woke me up, I—"

"Are we up at four in the morning because your fifteen year old daughter got a Patronus?" Jackson Conway asked, frowning visibly. He was the most experienced of the group –except for Weasley-, and didn't like to be bothered with nonsense. He also had the bad habit of trying to stand up against his superiors, something that usually gained him more trouble than what was worth.

"Just follow me, will you?" Ron grumbled, shooting a dirty glare at Conway, who glared back, once again defying Weasley's authority. They reached the fireplaces, where another man was waiting, his black hair as untidy as it could get.

"Mr. Potter." Nash exclaimed. What would be the emergency that needed the presence of the Head of Auror's Office?

"Nash, Conway, O'Halloran, Lupin." He greeted fast, looking extremely tired. "Ron, I went there myself. It's true, Rose had it right."

"Harry, what is going on?" Ted insisted, determined to control his feelings, although his hair gave him away: it was of a black color which showed whenever he was feeling vulnerable. Mr Potter looked at him, his face full of seriousness.

"Someone used the Killing Curse..." he swallowed so hard everyone in the room could hear it. Nash walked a step forward, confused, wondering if he had heard wrong. "Ron, if Rose hadn't alerted us... we found the boy in the forest nearby, he had passed out. His parents... He's at your parents' place; your mum is taking care of him."

"I can't believe it." Weasley was in such shock that it didn't suit his usual self-confident face. O'Halloran followed Nash's move, a bold look on her face.

"I'm sorry to intrude, sir, but I reckon we deserve to know what is going on." She said slowly, keeping her tone polite but demanding.

"Right, that's right... O'Halloran, Conway and Nash, take this Portkey and search the place. Make sure no one enters the building, and don't let anyone find out the identity of the victims. _Portus._" He tapped a newspaper he had brought along with him, and gave it to Conway, who just nodded, embracing his silent leadership. O'Halloran and Nash stepped closer and grabbed onto the paper, waiting for barely a few seconds before they disappeared in a blue light.

"I can't believe it." Ron insisted, covering his face. "This is unreal..."

"Who was it? And what has Rose to do with this? Who got killed?" Ted always asked too many questions, and Harry looked deep in thought as he tried to flatten his hair with one hand, the information slowly sinking in.

"The Malfoys... the Malfoys have been killed."

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><p><em>It's still a wild idea in my mind, but I want to know where I can take this. I hope you liked it! Reviews will be greatly appreciated :).<em>

_-Phankam._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own HP. :(_

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><p>"I can't explain right now, blah blah. Who does he even think he is?" Conway spat angrily, kicking a rock aside. Nash and O'Halloran didn't reply. "Are you buying his nonsense? For real? Aren't you tired of being ordered around by the joke shop idiot?"<p>

"He's one of the Golden Trio, Jack. And he's also our boss." O'Halloran said sharply, frowning. Conway rolled his eyes.

"What did he ever do to be famous? Just be friends with Potter, that's it!"

"Shut up, Conway. He's still our superior, and we weren't even born back then. What would we know about it?" Nash said.

"Maybe you don't know shit about what happened during the War, Nash, but I was born back then! My parents were killed, remember?" he said, coldly. "Not all of us had the good luck of growing up surrounded by wealth and magic… or love." he added, looking over at O'Halloran for approval, but only received a glare from her. "Right, be on his side, Heidi."

"It's not about taking sides! We're on a mission!" she snarled back, tripping over a root in her distraction. "Oh, fuck."

"The mission, yeah." Conway said, making a face. "It can't be that bad. People die every day."

"People die every day, they don't get killed—" O'Halloran started again, but didn't continue as Conway stopped on his tracks as they emerged from the forest. They found themselves at the presence of a huge mansion that looked eerie in the dark night. Conway held his wand in front of him.

"_Homenum Revelio." _He said, and nothing happened. "There's no one alive in there. Let's go."

The other two followed suit, keeping their wands in front of them, just in case. Nash's blood was still boiling over Conway's comments, but he refused to let the older man find out. They entered the house, and were greeted by the body of a woman, her wide blue eyes staring emptily into the ceiling, no sign of a struggle or of injury. She had the exact same look that books described in regards of the Killing Curse, Nash noticed. His heart was hammering against his ribcage now that it was certain that what was happening was real, not just another Auror Academy drill.

"Someone tried to fight." Heidi commented, looking around at the spell marks on walls and a broken jar laying by the wide staircase. Conway merely nodded, walking into the first room to the right. Nash and Heidi walked fast to reach him.

She couldn't hold her gasp, and Nash felt the color draining from his face.

Harry Potter hadn't specified how many times the Killing Curse had been used, but even if the dead blonde man had been on the wrong end of such a thing, they all figured that the deep cuts all across his chest would've killed him anyway. He was still clutching his wand and his eyes were wide open, his face frozen into what looked like the combination of pain and fear. Conway managed to get the wand out of his hands with magic, sliding it into a bag that Nash had just conjured. O'Halloran couldn't bring herself to do anything, for her eyes were still locked into the dead man's gray eyes.

"Isn't that Draco Malfoy?" Heidi finally asked, the gruesome scene having taken any other phrase away.

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><p>He was the first to get to their dorm room that first night back to school, even if he wasn't tired at all. He just didn't want to deal with people anymore: feeling the stares on the back of his head wasn't making it any easier. He kicked off his shoes and sat on his bed, staring aimlessly at the wall. He didn't know whether it was easier or harder to be alone: he kept hearing every little sound, and he could've sworn there were blood stains on the walls when he glanced at them.<p>

He didn't even dare close his eyes, for then the nightmare felt as if it was real once again.

"Scorp?" he was startled by the sudden voice, and he drew his wand immediately. He barely relaxed when Rose Weasley appeared on the doorway.

"It's you." He muttered, lowering his wand slowly. She nodded, walking in and closing the door behind her with her foot. Scorpius took a quick glance at her, noticing she was carrying a tray, making him feel uneasy, just as he had felt for the two weeks he had stayed at the Weasley's, where everyone seemed to want to help him in everything, but they were always secretly staring at him, making him feel more uncomfortable than he already was.

"You didn't have any dinner." She noted, looking down at the tray she was carrying. "I—uh, I got this from the kitchen." She explained, walking towards him tentatively.

"Thanks, Weasley." He said, receiving the tray of sandwiches and a bottle of pumpkin juice. He felt that uneasiness again, not wanting to receive any more pity from anyone. Rose sat down by him without asking for permission and set her hands on her knees. Scorpius looked sideways at her. "Thanks." He repeated, but he wasn't talking about the food anymore. She nodded and opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was she supposed to say? That she was sorry? Of course she was sorry, but that was something that wouldn't change anything, and he was surely sick of hearing it by then.

"You should start calling me Rose." She finally said, shaking her head with a weak smile. "We've known each other for five years. We're… friends, you know? And there's too many Weasleys in this school anyway."

"Rose." The name sounded strange when he said it out loud. The truth was that he never even thought of her as Rose: it had always been Weasley ever since they had met at the train five years before. It was always just Weasley. For the rest of the family he had mental nicknames: there was Veela Weasley for the oldest blonde one, and Tomboy Weasley for her sister; the blonde brother was Quiet Weasley in his head, and there were also Twin Weasleys, brother and sister. Little Weasley was Weasley's—well, Rose's brother. He had barely ever talked to any of them: Rose was his only acquaintance in that family.

"I mean, I've always called you Scorp, and that's okay with you, isn't it?" she sounded nervous. Scorpius just nodded. "I'm glad—"

"Do you really think of me as a friend?" he interrupted, glancing over at her again. She frowned.

"We always work together in class and do our homework together. We talk, too. We hang out, we play Quidditch together… I'm sure that's what friends do." She didn't bother hiding her tone of sarcasm, because Scorpius was used to it already.

He nodded, knowing that was true. They were friends. They had been friends since the day they met, and after his parents, she was probably the one who knew the most about him…

His chest tightened. If he thought of it, she was the only alive person who knew him at all.

_He sat alone in his compartment, almost curled in the corner. He didn't remember feeling so anxious ever: his parents had made sure he was always in a safe environment where nothing was to worry him. This was going to be the first time he was going to be away from them, and it didn't feel so good so far. Unlike other kids his age, he never fancied Hogwarts much. He liked being alone… well, more like he was used to it. His only companions were his parents, and he enjoyed it very much._

_The compartment door slid open and two boys walked in, laughing loudly. Scorpius recognized them at once because his Father had talked about their family: they were a Weasley and a Potter. The black-haired one was the first one to caught sight of him, and smiled a little._

"_Look, a baby first year!" he said in a mocking baby voice. "This is our compartment, boy."_

"_I got here first." Scorpius said matter-of-factly. "I don't see your name written anywhere here."_

"_Just make it easy for us and leave, will you?" the red-haired one said. Scorpius didn't move from his seat. "Don't make me curse you, kid."_

"_Don't make me curse _you_." Scorpius spat back. He knew a little bit of magic from being home-schooled by his Mother and Father, and he had learned a few tricks from his Grandfather as well._

"_Who do you even think you are?" the black-haired boy said, raising an eyebrow._

"_Scorpius Malfoy." He said, still not moving at all, his hand inside his pocket, clutching onto his wand._

"_James! Freddy! Just leave him alone, will you?" a red-haired girl walked in, closely followed by the younger Potter boy._

"_Ohhh, Rosie is in love with Malfoy!" Fred joked as James roared with laughter._

"_Bugger off, James!" the younger Potter snapped, looking angry as well. James and Fred looked at each other, shrugged and left, not without chuckling slightly at the sight of Scorpius Malfoy sitting in a corner, clutching his wand tightly with an expression of defiance across his pale face._

"_I'm sorry my cousins are total pricks, Malfoy. I'm Rose Weasley." She said, sitting across from him, not asking for permission. "This is my cousin Albus."_

"_Hello." He said warily, not letting his wand go. She smiled widely. "Why are you even talking to me? Don't you hate me, like everyone else?" he blurted out. Rose didn't look as taken aback as her cousin next to her._

"_I won't judge you if you won't judge us from having met James and Fred before." Her answer was simple, but it was enough for Scorpius. Albus smiled next to her, his hands twitching nervously on his lap. "We're all going into the same adventure after all, aren't we?"_

"_Yeah, I suppose so." He finally let go of his wand and relaxed, spreading a little bit on his seat._

"_I'm sorry for my brother's behavior… he's usually not that bad." Albus interjected. "He doesn't hate you or anything of the sort, he doesn't even know you! Why would we hate you, anyway?"_

"_Everyone hates traitors and cowards, and that's what my family is usually called." He was honest, because he had never known any other way of being. Albus didn't know what to say, so instead he looked over at Rose._

"_So, do you know any magic yet? I tried reading a few books, but I was just so anxious to get there that I couldn't focus at all!" she changed the subject quickly. "My mum is an amazing witch, but she refused to teach me any, because she said I'd enjoy it more if I learned in school. I can just do this…" she took her wand out quickly. "_Lumos._" The tip of her wand ignited, and her eyes seemed to sparkle in wonder at that simple bit of magic. The look in her eyes was so naïve, so innocent… Scorpius smiled._

"_I know a few jinxes that I read in a book." He admitted sheepishly, making Albus look very interested._

"_You should teach me some! Then if my brother decides to jinx me again I'll be able to defend myself!"_

"_Your brother has jinxed you?" Scorpius asked disbelievingly. Albus nodded. "How so? I thought we weren't allowed to practice magic outside of school."_

"_He does anyway, and since dad is important in the Ministry, they don't do much about James."_

"_Wow, one time I was playing with my dad's wand and…" Scorpius started, but then decided against sharing that with the two cousins. He didn't want to scare them. It was just too soon for that story. Rose and Albus looked expectantly at him. "On second thoughts, never you mind that."_

_He used a tone that both Albus and Rose recognized as one that didn't admit replies, one that adults used very often. It intrigued them, but they knew not to push the matter further._

"_So… are you hoping to go to Gryffindor?" Scorpius asked. He expected both children to nod, but just Rose did. Albus, on the other hand, just shrugged, making his red-headed cousin stare at him, raising an eyebrow._

"_I don't know if I want to be in the same house as James." Albus admitted, shrugging again. "I mean, all the other Houses are good—"_

"_Even Slytherin?" Scorpius interrupted abruptly. Albus stared into his gray eyes, and then nodded._

"_Where do you want to go to? Slytherin?" Rose asked, seeming interested._

"_I don't know. I want to be anywhere I'll be accepted, to be honest."_

"_Me too." Albus said with a shy smile._

…

"_Malfoy, Scorpius." Professor Longbottom called. There was some isolated whispering around the room, but he chose to ignore it as he strode with his head held high to the stool. He sat down and let the hat cover his eyes. It was nice and cool under it, and he was startled when a voice talked into his ear._

'_Hmm… I can't say I'm not surprised, young Malfoy… this mind is nothing like I've seen in your family before." The hat commented. "I see the ambition to prove yourself, but that bravery seems to overshadow any desire to succeed beyond limits, and that's a lot to say… good luck in GRYFFINDOR!'_

How could so many things happen in one day! That first moment had changed his life forever, and he'd never forget it: being sorted into Gryffindor, that strange feeling that overwhelmed him, the silence across the Great Hall. He was under the impression his sorting was just as anticipated as Albus', and he was glad when the Potter boy joined him in the house of scarlet and gold. When Rose Weasley joined them as well, it was as perfect as it could be. Rose and Albus were his only two companions in school, his first _friends_. His parents had never let him play with other children his age, so he had never had friends before. It was just so… magical.

"You are my friend. I'm sorry I even doubted that." He apologized. "You and Albus…"

"How come you can call him by his name and I've always only been Weasley?"

"How come you always ask that?" he asked back, elbowing her playfully on her right arm. She laughed a little. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He's stuffing himself, as always. He loves eating way too much."

"No wonder, I'd love eating if my grandmother was that good of a cook, too." Scorpius said, smiling a little.

Those little things helped keep his mind off the awful things that were going on. They helped keep his mind off the fact that he might be in danger, that someone might be out there in the Castle's boundaries, looking to kill him like his parents had been killed just twenty-one days before.

Hogwarts was the only safe place for him at the moment. Everything had been shaken up in his world.

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><p><em>Hey! Second chapter's up~ Thanks for the reviews and the interest! This is still introductory, and I'm very excited to continue with this! It'll only get better!<em>

_I'll be going on vacation for a week tomorrow, but I'll have my notebook with me and I'll be writing, so expect an update sooner than later!_

_-Phankam._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: You are cordially invited to watch me cry because I don't own HP._

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><p>"<em>We searched the whole house; there were no signs of a struggle anywhere but the Drawing Room and the<em> _Entrance Hall. We found two wands in the building: one that was on Victim #1's hand, and one in a room upstairs, which we assumed is the boy's room."_

"_Could you determine the cause of death?" Ron asked, looking straight into Conway's eyes. He looked sideways at Nash, who took a step forward._

"_Victim #2 was clearly on the receiving end of the Killing Curse. We are yet unsure as if Victim #1 died from the wounds inflicted magically to his chest and limbs that led to him bleeding to death, or if he died from another curse." Nash stated, trying to figure out what the hell he was thinking when he had mentally complained about lack of action in the department._

"_I have a theory." O'Halloran announced. Ron looked at her questioningly. "Considering the amount of blood surrounding him, I'd say he was left to bleed for a long time before his actual death. I don't think he was a victim of the Killing Curse though… his body was oddly paralyzed and it couldn't be attributed to rigor mortis because if the information we have is correct, he would've died at most ninety minutes before our arrival, and it takes at least three hours for rigor mortis to kick in. My theory is that he was attacked, probably tried to defend himself, and after receiving the deep wounds he was put under the Body-Bind Curse. That'd explain his facial expression, because he was surely in pain from the cuts, and the stiffness of his body—"_

"_You really need to stop watching Muggle TV shows." Nash interrupted. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that long ramble, Weasley, our partner's got a huge imagination—"_

"_What she's saying is actually quite plausible." Conway interfered, frowning. "I don't know if the Body-Bind Curse would've kept on working after death, though."_

"_According to what I've read in Magical Research Papers, the way Body-Binding works is by causing Calcium ions to diffuse from—"_

"_Don't start with your Muggle science bullshit explanations." Nash said, rolling his eyes. _

"_Then how can you levitate a dead body? Wouldn't it be possible for the Body-Bind Curse to work after death?" O'Halloran insisted, looking over at Conway for approval._

"_That'd mean the caster of the spell would have to be around, wouldn't it? There was no one around when we arrived, remember?" Conway said, trying to hide his smile. He had a soft spot for O'Halloran and her crazy ideas, but he always knew she was taking it too far. After all, he had personally confirmed with his spell that there was no one in the house…_

"_How do you know there was no one at the place when you arrived?" Weasley asked, frowning slightly._

"_I performed the spell on the house to check." Conway said, a little annoyed by the stupid question._

"_Did you perform it on the whole forest around?" Weasley's voice rose a little. Conway closed his mouth immediately, his pupils widening as his heart started pumping faster._

"_Shit." He mumbled, looking over at O'Halloran and Nash, who looked absolutely stunned as well._

"_You bloody idiots! How did you not… you were told to search the place! You're supposed to be Highly Trained Aurors! How did… Harry, I need you here—Expecto Patronum!" Ron yelled, flicking his wand furiously, without even bothering to look at his Patronus running out to find Harry. "Now, what are you waiting for? Go back there and do your job like you're supposed to, __gits__! I'll join you shortly with Harry."_

_The three young Aurors nodded without saying a word and turned on the spot, vanishing in a swirl of robes._

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><p>"Mr. Malfoy, I want you to know that if you don't feel up to going to class, you'll be excused." Professor Longbottom explained. "And if you need to talk to anyone, the whole staff is willing to help in any way we can."<p>

"Thanks, sir." Scorpius replied, shifting slightly on his chair, trying to avoid the older man's eyes. "I… I'll keep on going to class, probably. I don't want to fall behind, especially this being OWLs year."

"I know. Just keep in mind that we're here to help you. You might go now." Professor Longbottom said with a warm smile that Scorpius had trouble returning: it was irrational, but he always felt intimidated in presence of his Head of House and Herbology professor. He stood up and left the office as quick as he could without seeming rude, and was relieved to find out that Albus was waiting for him outside. They took off without saying a word until they were at the Entrance Hall.

"Where's Rose?" Scorpius asked.

"She was hungry, so I told her to have breakfast and that I'd wait for you." Albus explained, running his fingers through his hair, trying to keep it off his eyes.

"Are you ever getting that mop cut off?" Scorpius asked, amused. Ever since they had met in the school train, Albus' hair had been out of control, but now it was just ridiculous.

"I can't. James won the bet, and I said I wouldn't get a haircut until my 16th birthday."

"At least your birthday is in October and not August." Scorpius commented, laughing a bit. Albus smiled a bit and opened his mouth to say something, but Rose cut in front of them abruptly.

"I brought you toast. We're late for class!" she said quickly, pushing the food towards the boys. "You know Professor Vaughn doesn't like to be kept waiting—"

"Rose, relax, we still have ten minutes to get upstairs." Albus said, getting started on his toast right away. Rose frowned and drew her wand, pointing at Albus' face. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Let me do your hair, it's driving me insane!" she protested. The green-eyed boy rolled his eyes and shrugged. Rose waved her wand satisfactorily, tying her cousin's hair in a ponytail. "You look like Uncle Bill! It suits you!"

"Hey Al! Nice hairdo!" his brother James yelled while running by. "I can't wait to see you flying with your gorgeous hair trailing behind!"

"Git." Albus said, rolling his eyes. "Won't you just love being on the team with him as Captain, Scorp?"

"Oh, I'm dying to try out. He'll probably just cut me from it because he doesn't like me." He didn't look bitter about it at all. He knew he was the best Seeker they could possibly have.

"He'll probably cut me too, for being his brother." Albus said, shrugging. "He won't want people to say he's letting people in because they're his family. You know how much he values his popularity."

"He knows the team needs your scoring touch, Al." Rose interjected, leading them towards the classroom. "I don't see why people would object either: He knows you're much better than him at scoring."

"He's better at flying than I am, though."

"Maybe you should try getting a Seeker who doesn't run away from the Snitch." A voice interrupted. Albus stopped right on his tracks and turned around, drawing his wand and almost snarling at the newcomer, a tall boy who was smiling with mockery.

"Scorpius seeking ability didn't seem a problem when we beat you 200-0 last year, Sanders." Rose shot right away, grabbing Albus' left arm so he wouldn't curse the head off the Slytherin prefect.

"He just ran into the Snitch, if you ask me. He was too busy escaping from the Bludgers, the dirty little coward."

"Call him coward one more time and I'll make sure you can't open your bloody mouth again." Albus said angrily, golden sparks shooting from the end of his wand. Scorpius put his hand on his friend's shoulder, pulling him back.

"It's not worth it, Al."

"Yeah, Malfoy, run away. That's what you were taught, wasn't it? In the end it didn't help your parents much, now did—"

"_Occludo!"_

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS!"

Rose felt like it happened in slow motion: Scorpius had brandished his wand like he was carrying a sword, and without saying a word the magic slapped across Sanders' face like a whip, although he couldn't muster a sound from Albus' jinx.

"POTTER! MALFOY!" a thunderous voice rang through the corridor. Albus froze in place, looking at the bald Defense against the Darks Arts professor approaching with a stern look, being closely followed by the rest of their class, all with curious eyes especially set on Scorpius, whose fury was almost palpable. He was shaking and his wand was still issuing sparks, his eyes set on the taller boy, who was on the floor cradling his face, clutching his wand, unable to perform any magic due his magically shut mouth. "Ten points from Gryffindor from attacking another student. And ten from Slytherin, because I'm not going to pretend I'm deaf either, Sanders. Go get yourself fixed, will you?" he said in his American accent. "Potter, Weasley, go in the classroom. Malfoy, you can go back to Gryffindor tower if you want to—"

"I'll just stay in class." Scorpius mumbled, putting his wand away and walking past his classmates, who were whispering without even trying to conceal that they were talking about him. No one had ever seen him react like that to any taunt, and he was on the receiving end of them at least once a day, especially from the Slytherins, who were usually led by Evan Sanders.

He sat on the backmost desk, quickly being joined by Albus and Rose on each side. The latter opened her mouth to say something, but Scorpius just shook his head as he took parchment and quill out. Albus sighed, finally putting his wand away. The rest of the class had already joined them, most of them throwing sideway looks at the blond boy sitting with his head down, his hands trembling slightly, his eyes dry but full of feelings that no one there could possibly begin to understand.

"As you know, fifth year means OWLs." Professor Vaughn said walking to the front of the classroom, lazily waving his wand at the blackboard, where the words 'Ordinary Wizarding Levels Examination' appeared. "I will not take anything below an E on my NEWT level class, and I must say this is an important class that I expect most of you to take next year, so I want to see your best effort for the next few months until it's time for you to take that damned exam."

He paced between the desks, smiling a bit.

"Mr. Potter, as one of our most accomplished duelists in 5th year as usually seen in corridors, would you care to assist me with a demonstration?" he said, slowly making his way towards the front. Albus blushed madly, knowing very well that he referred to all the times he had landed in detention for fighting with other students, especially Slytherins. "Put your things away and stand up so we can make room."

Everyone did as they were told, and at another lazy flick of Professor Vaughn's wand, all desks were stacked by the walls. Albus stood still, not sure whether to take his wand out or not.

"Everyone who is not named Albus Potter, please stand by the walls and pay attention." He started, presenting his wand in front of him, in a dueling position. "Mr. Potter, you'll get to follow everyone's desires and try to hex me. Please, be creative. Of course, no Unforgivables shall be forgiven." He chuckled at his own joke, an action that wasn't mirrored by anyone else in the room, for they all seemed to concentrated on the scene: it wasn't the first time they had a practical lesson with professor Vaughn, but it surely was the first time he gave a student an open invitation to attack him.

"Sir, what kind of jinx…?" Albus started.

"Just whatever your brain comes up with, Mr. Potter. I'm waiting." He said. Al finally nodded, taking his wand out and walking towards the older man. "First of all, I must applaud Mr. Potter's dueling etiquette. Yes, we must start at the middle. We bow, we present our wands." They both acted upon the words, and walked away from each other. Albus was nervous, but turned on the spot, his wand at the ready.

"_Petrificus totalus!_" Albus waved his wand, but it didn't take more than yet another lazy flick from professor Vaughn to stop it.

"Nice attempt. Of course, rendering my whole body useless could be a good idea. Another one, Mr. Potter?"

"_Stupefy!_" the red jet of light dissipated in front of Professor Vaughn as he laughed.

"That seems a lot more like something a student would want to do." He said. "Well, that's enough. Who can tell me why there is no chance Mr. Potter can defeat me at his level of magical education?"

"You're too experienced." Daniel Finnigan piped up, not raising his hand. Professor Vaughn laughed again.

"Nice try, Finnigan. Anyone else? How about you, Mr. Malfoy? Any ideas?"

"He's too predictable." Scorpius said, looking over at his friend. "I mean, it's pretty obvious with the yelling."

"That's exactly the problem. Five points to Gryffindor. Now, what could be done to prevent this? Miss Weasley?"

"Non-verbal spells, like you used to defend yourself."

"Excellent, excellent. But non-verbal spells could be predicted, with enough practice. How so?"

"The wand movements. And knowing your opponent helps, too." A black-haired Slytherin said with a slight smile.

"That's exactly right, Ignatius." He smiled slightly. "But wand movements are only predictable if a known spell is used… Which is why we'll spend this first term studying the mysterious land of Created Spells."

"Aren't we going to review for our OWLs?" Rose asked, feeling a little uneasy.

"Would you rather study something you already know or learn something new and exciting, Miss Weasley?" Professor Vaughn asked with the same smile. "Not meaning to brag, but I know you're all capable of passing that examination… after all, I've taught you well for these past four years. Besides, we'll spend the last two terms reviewing. Creating spells is something that isn't properly covered, and I'd much rather know you can do it properly than start inventing dangerous spells. Now, please sit back down and start taking notes."

The desks went back to their original place, and everyone sat down as Professor Vaughn started talking about Latin roots and magic.

Albus glanced sideways at his blond friend, who seemed to be unable to pay attention.

"Scorp? Are you alright?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah… I'm just…" he shrugged and started writing, his mind travelling back to that dreadful night: Part of him wished he had stayed behind to fight for his family, but he knew he didn't stand a chance. He looked at the back of their professor's bald head, and wondered, just slightly, whether there was more behind this sudden need to teach them better dueling technique.

His stomach felt heavy. What if he had known how to fight back? Would he have done it? Would he have still run after his Mother's orders?

Maybe Sanders was right. Maybe he was a coward… maybe being a Malfoy was about being a coward, after all. There were so many things he knew came with being a part of the Malfoy family, and sadly, he knew most of those things weren't good things to begin with.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dad, please…" Scorpius said, grabbing onto his father's arm. Draco didn't turn to face his child, unable to meet his pleading eyes. Instead, he just shook his head.<em>

"_You already know the answer, Scorp." He said, touching his boy's fingers just so slightly. Scorpius sighed, resigned._

"_You said you were okay with them being my friends." The 12-year-old objected once again, biting his lower lip. Draco looked sideways at him, right into his gray eyes, those that had been a part of the Malfoy family for generations but that for the first time belonged to a boy who wasn't a Slytherin, eyes that belonged to his beloved boy, his only son, his best companion…_

"_You can be friends with them, but they won't come to this house."_

"_But dad…"_

"_That is my final word."_

"_So you're not totally okay with them, are you? If you were, you'd let them come over! Everyone else goes to their friends' during summer vacation, yet here I am, you never let me go anywhere, but you don't let me invite my _only_ friends over!"_

"_Scorpius, enough is enough." Draco snapped, his voice sounding harsher than he had meant. His son shut his mouth immediately, recognizing the dismissive tone of his voice. _

"_Okay." He said in almost a whisper, closing his eyes. "Okay. I get it."_

_He let go of his father's arm and walked away, trying to hold back the tears. Was it too much to ask for? _

"_Scorp…" He stopped right at the doorstep, turning around to face his father again, his eyes swimming in tears. "I'll… we'll talk about it with your mother."_

_Scorpius nodded slightly, all sorts of questions running through his head._

"_Is it because it's Rose and Albus?" he finally asked, not wanting to hear the answer. Draco didn't move or say anything, but the look in his eyes was enough for his son. "Is that also a part of being a Malfoy? Because if it is… if it is…"_

_Scorpius didn't finish, his words lost on an escaped sob. He just turned around and ran up the stairs into his room, wishing once again to not be a Malfoy._

* * *

><p><em>I know it's been a while, but I've been busy for the past year because of school (see profile)! I'm on my winter break, so I can write again.<em>

_I hope you liked this one… I tried to make it long so it would make up for the long delay! I've been writing a lot these days, so hopefully I'll have another update up soon._

_Thanks to everyone who showed interest and has reviewed! Hopefully this one you'll like too :)!_

_-Phankam_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own HP. I own my OCs and this idea, tho :)_

* * *

><p>"I just have a bad feeling." Nash spat, bitterly. Ted looked entertained for a second, but still kept himself busy making birds appear all over the office.<p>

"Don't be so negative, Matty. Besides, you're the unlucky one, but I'm bound to bring enough luck for both of us." Teddy said with a smile. The canaries were circling over their heads, with Nash looking at them with distaste. "Don't look at the poor birds that way, Matt."

"Last time you decided it would be fun to fill a place with birds, we had to clean bird droppings for about an hour." Matt reminisced, making the turquoise haired man chuckle. "Yeah, it's funny now, isn't it? Professor McGonagall didn't find it so funny."

"It was her fault for locking us in her office, wasn't it? Besides, that was over five years ago! Will you get over it?" Ted interjected, waving his wand, making all birds disappear at once. They stayed in silence for a second, hearing the usual busy atmosphere of the Auror department unravel. "I miss school."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah. I miss the simplicity, don't you? Just getting up, having a laugh, studying… I miss Quidditch."

"Quidditch is something worth missing." Nash said with a smile. "And we didn't have to deal with certain assholes." He said, looking over his shoulder towards the wall that divided their cubicle from the next one over. Ted chuckled again.

"That's a good plus." He said, his hair turning the exact same color and style as Conway's, his usually green eyes imitating the pale blue. "I am in charge here, Nash." He stated, making his taller friend laugh.

Their laughter died in the middle of a loud noise that started all of the sudden, filling their cubicle. Ted whipped his hair fast, making it short and turquoise again, his eyes back to its usual shade and alertness. Nash had jumped to his feet, wand on hand, muttering an incantation. The chatter around them had died away as well, Aurors all over the place moving, tracing the source of the sensor that had been activated. Not two seconds had elapsed and at least half a dozen Aurors were peeking into the friends' small office space.

From the tip of Nash's wand, the shadow of an impressive house appeared, its tall windows obscured by the ghostly aspect the spell gave it.

"Nash, where was it?" A newcomer asked, moving people aside to get to the front, his unruly black hair making him impossible not to recognize.

"An ex-Death Eater's place." He announced, the shadow his wand had projected dissolving into the air. Conway had appeared right behind Harry, with O'Halloran by his side. The rest of the place was silent, waiting for Harry's instructions.

"Okay, everybody, I'll go with team Conway to the place. We'll call if we need backups!" he commanded over the silence. There was a murmur of agreement. "Have you identified the exact place, Nash?"

"I think so, sir." He grabbed the first object he found on his cluttered desk and tapped it with his wand, making it glow blue.

"Let's go." Harry said, placing his hand on the rolled up piece of blank parchment. The rest of the team held onto it as well, and they disappeared in a blur.

They landed in the countryside, just a few meters away from the road. Harry looked around before turning to the group.

"I don't know what we'll find exactly, but I must insist you're careful. Let's go." He started walking down the road, being followed by the four young Aurors. Conway had his mouth shut, but he looked in Harry's direction with skepticism in his pale blue eyes. O'Halloran had her hands deep in the pockets of her Muggle jacket, obviously holding her wand. Ted's hair had switched to black and untidy, just like his godfather's, and walked by Nash with an unreadable facial expression.

They walked in silence. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the road was oddly deserted. Only one car drove by them, and it paid no attention to the wizards: they just seemed like a random group of Muggles on their way to the village.

A few cottages were scattered as they came closer to the village. Harry stopped and gestured them to do so as well.

"What is that feeling…?" Ted asked, looking around. No one answered, but they had all felt it: powerful magic seemed to be floating around the place. Harry looked around in search of Muggles, and as he saw no one, he drew his wand. Ted was already clutching his, scanning the area.

"It's coming from over there." Nash announced, pointing towards one of the houses. Harry nodded and approached the place cautiously. As they neared the door, the feeling of magic intensified. "Who lives here, Mr. Potter?"

"Last time we checked, this was the residence of Gregory Goyle and his family." Harry stated, his heartbeat still regular but slowly becoming faster. "Let's go inside."

He was the first to enter. The sitting room was small, with a couch and a couple mismatched chairs. All the curtains were drawn shut, making the place seem dark.

"This seems darker than usual dark." O'Halloran muttered, her wand's tip igniting.

"_Homenum Revelio_." Harry whispered, and nothing happened. Nash looked back towards the door.

"Lupin, O'Halloran, check the perimeter. We can't let the perpetrator escape again." Conway said in a low voice. The two young Aurors looked over at Harry, who nodded his approval.

Harry peered into the empty kitchen, and then glanced up the stairs.

"The source seems to be coming from upstairs." He muttered, making his way up, followed closely by Nash and Conway.

The second floor was strangely spacious, considering the size of the cottage. It seemed evident that it had been enlarged using magic. It had three doors that went off it, only one of them open, revealing what seemed to be an empty bedroom with Slytherin hangings on the walls. Harry looked around, his hair standing on end, finally deciding on one of the closed doors. He opened it.

"Damn." He muttered, walking into the room. Conway followed, looking straight into the wide open eyes of the dead man on the floor, his body covered in blood, long, deep cuts all over his chest, his shirt ripped, the words 'PUREBLOOD' burnt into his chest by magical means. Harry kneeled by the body to check for a pulse, just to follow the official procedure, knowing beforehand that Gregory Goyle was already dead. He felt almost some kind of electricity issuing, the skin still strangely warm, although he had obviously passed away. Conway circled the body, facing the door, looking straight at Nash, whose eyes were fixed on the dead man's blank expression. Behind him, either Ted or Heidi was making their way upstairs.

Except that it was a cloaked figure, pointing his wand at the back of the unsuspecting Matt Nash.

"FUCK, Nash, get out of the way!" Conway yelled, flicking his wand furiously, making the taller Auror fall to his side, narrowly avoiding the green jet of light. Nash scrambled to his feet, pointing his wand at the cloaked stranger, who laughed maniacally.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry yelled, but the stranger was faster, keeping himself from being disarmed. "Show yourself! You're surrounded!"

"Harry Potter… I honestly didn't expect to see you here." The cloaked one laughed again, his face hidden in unusually dense shadows. "What is this? Are you a protector of this pureblood scum?"

Nash and Conway stood still, their wands pointing at the stranger.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, his wand firm and steady in his sweaty hand.

"I am one of the new Order." He explained with an unnervingly calm voice, making his way towards one of the closed windows. "I would love to stay here to chat, but of course, this won't be possible."

"Stay where you are! There's more of us downstairs!" Nash said threateningly, his heart threatening to escape from his chest: Had he seriously been about to get killed?

"Matthew Archibald Nash, pureblood… do you honestly believe I would've been able to make it back inside and up here without killing those two half-bloods you set on me outside?" he mocked. All color drained from Harry's face. "Just wanted to deliver a message…" he flicked his wand to deflect a spell from Conway. "Conway, you should be one of us, you know? I know you hate purebloods just as much as we do."

"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, hurting to see if Teddy was alright… if he was dead, it'd be his fault… Was he going to be responsible of the dead of another part of his family? It had been over 20 years since it had happed, but the pain was just as fresh as it was when it first happened, when he was just 15 years old.

"Harry Potter. We are the End of the Beginning… we'll bring a fresh start to the Wizarding World, and free it from the pureblooded scum that for so long has been in charge. You're safe, but I must ask you to stay away, because nothing will get in our way. We all owe you a lot for your own work against pureblood supremacy, but if you stand in our way, you and your family will have to be wiped for the greater good."

Harry felt his body freeze in the spot, the strange magic within the place invading him. Nash let out a strangled cry, and the stranger laughed once again, and Disapparated on the spot.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, finally regaining control of his body. Nash was on the floor, shaking, with Conway by his side. "We need help! _Expecto Patronum_ … What happened to him?"

"He's bleeding…" Conway was already ripping his comrade's shirt, revealing a long cut that underlined a bright red burn that spelled out the word 'PUREBLOOD' across his chest. "Go check on Heidi and Lupin, I'll take care of Nash." He was already waving his wand over Nash's cut, making it knit itself carefully, stopping the bleeding.

Harry ran down the stairs, finding the blonde girl sprawled by the foot of the stairs, a bit of blood trailing from her mouth.

"Heidi?" Harry fell by her side, checking for a pulse. He calmed down a bit when he felt it, slow but steady, under his fingers. "_Ennervate!_"

She opened her eyes slowly, looking weak.

"Ted…" she murmured, closing her eyes again. Harry was outside in no time, looking around for his godson. He found him not too far from the door, lying motionless on the grass.

"Teddy... Teddy, please be alive." Harry pleaded, kneeling by him as a group of five wizards ran down the road towards them, leaded by his pale freckled best friend. "Teddy… _Ennervate_…"

Ted didn't stir. Harry's fingers were shaking as he tried to find a pulse in his godson's neck, not finding any. Finally, he pressed his ear to the young man's chest, his eyes already full of tears.

Suddenly, there it was. A low, weak sounding beat, but there it was. Ted's heart was still working, albeit slowly and almost giving out.

"He's still alive! His heart is beating really slowly!" Harry said, his voice sounding unusually high. One of the Auror mediwizards pushed Harry aside and pointed his wand towards Ted's heart. "O'Halloran and Nash are also injured; Conway is assisting them inside!"

He stood up, switching back towards his leader self. He dried his eyes hastily, internally relieved that Teddy was alright, and walked towards Ron.

"Harry, what happened?"

"Goyle's dead, and we were ambushed by the killer. He set some kind of spell all over the place that got us to investigate, and then used that power to paralyze us and escape." He explained, looking back towards the cottage. Heidi had been put on a stretcher and was portkeyed away alongside a mediwizard. "Ron, this must definitely be the same person who attacked Draco and his family... or part of the same organization."

"What do you mean by organization?"

"He said something about being the 'End of the Beginning'… we must investigate."

"Sir, Nash and O'Halloran have been taken to St Mungo's." Conway informed, glancing sideways at the two mediwizards working on Ted.

"That bastard distracted us by telling he had killed Ted and Heidi." Harry spat, feeling furious at himself. "We should've been able to stop him!"

"He was highly skilled… and, as you probably noticed, the magic in the air wasn't a trace of a spell… it was actual magic that he then used to protect himself and attack us. He expected to be able to talk to whoever showed up."

"He never expected it to be me, probably." Harry shook his head, watching his godson disappear alongside the two other Aurors.

"He attempted to murder Nash." Conway added, looking at Ron, who looked paler than before. "Used the Killing Curse…"

"If it hadn't been for you, he would've succeeded." Harry declared, his face somber. "I can't believe we were ambushed like this…"

"Harry, it could've happened to anyone…" Ron started, but was rudely interrupted by a low chuckle by the young brown haired Auror. "Anything to say, Conway?"

"Excuse me, Weasley, but stating the obvious isn't going to help. Sir, may I Apparate to St Mungo's and see how my crew's doing?"

"Sure, go." Harry nodded. He was left alone with Ron, who looked angry. "Ron, ignore him, you know he's a troublemaker, but a useful one. If it wasn't for him, we would probably be mourning the dead of one of ours."

"Should we move Goyle back to Headquarters?" Ron asked, having decided to just keep on ignoring the younger Auror. Harry nodded, and they both walked back into the cottage.

He laughed in a low voice, observing the scene from a nearby tree. His black cloak moved in the wind, a few strands of black hair escaping from the shadowy hood that covered his face. He turned swiftly, disappearing into thin air.

* * *

><p>Scorpius wasn't sure whether he was better off just chucking his cauldron away instead of stirring the already murky contents of it. He had obviously skipped a step, and thus his potion was a dreadful mess. Next to him, Rose was trying to control the fire under her own cauldron, while Albus looked smug, his potion the perfect shade described in the book. The rest of the class wasn't doing so well either and Professor Markham seemed to have noticed, for he was sporting a sly smile that he reserved for pleading students only.<p>

His smile faltered for a second as the door to his dungeon opened, and Professor McGonagall walked in, looking around the classroom.

"Excuse the interruption, Professor Markham, but I need to talk to Mr. Goyle."

"Off you go then, Goyle. There's not much you can do about your potion anyway." Professor Markham said as he put a sample of the white solution on the bottom of the boy's cauldron into a vial and cleaned the rest of it, making it vanish. The young Slytherin sighed, and followed Professor McGonagall, wondering why he was being summoned. "Well, class, just 10 minutes left. If you feel it's the best you can do and you can bottle it, please do, and leave on my desk for marking."

Scorpius read the instructions again, finally realizing what he had missed. Of course, adding it now could cause a mess. He pressed his lips together, finally opting to at least try.

The result was immediate: his potion had turned a nice shade of green, very similar to Albus'. He smiled widely, surprised at his own luck. He looked up to see if anyone else had managed to fix their potion, not seeing much success. Just as fast as his potion had turned green, it changed to a darker shade of the color, finally settling back to its previous muddy appearance.

"Time's UP. Bottle up, label and leave on my desk." Scorp grimaced as he filled a vial with the contents of his cauldron and left it next to Al's perfect potion on the professor's desk. "For next week, you'll have to brew one of the four potions we've been working on for the past weeks… of course you're expected to know it by heart, so please study. We don't want any unexpected explosions. See you next week."

"I'm starving." Albus complained with a small smile.

"Stop looking so smug, it's annoying!" Rose snapped, making him laugh.

"Don't be angry that I did better than you for once! It was all effort on my part!"

"That stupid fire was so hard to control, I have no idea what happened." Rose explained, looking bitter. Albus smiled apologetically at his cousin, while Scorpius had to work hard to not laugh.

"Let Al enjoy his one moment of Potions greatness. We know it won't last long." Scorp joked. "You know he always blows things up on Randomized Potion Making day."

"Hey, that only happened once!" Albus defended himself, laughing. They reached the top of the stairs and walked towards the Great Hall.

"It was amusing nonetheless." Rose added, seating across the table from a small girl whose red hair was lazily tied up in a ponytail. "Hi Lily."

"Hello!" the third-year said, smiling a bit. "Hi Al, hello Scorp! Al, have you seen dad yet?"

"No. Why is he here?"

"I don't know, Lys told me he saw him walking with McGonagall and a Slytherin… I wonder if he'll stop by to say hello..."

"Was he with Goyle?" Scorp asked, curious. The small Potter girl shrugged, not sure. "That's strange, why would your dad come to talk to Goyle…?"

"Haven't you heard?" a voice said behind them. They turned around to see a skinny black-haired Slytherin boy from their year, one of the few who didn't mercilessly tease Scorpius, named Ignatius Vaughn. They all shook their heads. "I don't know for sure, but…" he glanced at Scorp for one second. "I heard my dad talking to Professor Longbottom; apparently something happened to Vince's dad. It didn't seem too good, either."

Scorpius felt frozen to his seat. Goyle's dad had been a friend of his Father… what would've possible happened to him?

No… it couldn't be. But… could it?

"Scorp, where are you going?" Albus asked.

"I'll be right back!" He quickly left the Great Hall behind, his feet carrying him up one of the hidden corridors, swiftly approaching the headmistress' office.

He stopped at the sight of his friend's father walking on the opposite direction, Professor McGonagall with him, and not so far behind them, Vince Goyle, looking stunned. Both adults caught sight of the Gryffindor prefect.

"Mr. Potter, I'll take young Mr. Goyle to the infirmary." She offered, smiling sadly at Scorpius. Harry walked towards him.

"Hello, Scorpius."

"Hi." His mouth was dry, his chest pounding. What was going on?

"What a coincidence… I take it you've heard what happened?"

"Not really." Scorpius bit his lower lip. Harry sighed.

"I wish we knew what is going on… I really do. I must talk to you about some very serious matter going on right now. Shall we go in here?"

They walked into an empty classroom. Harry motioned Scorpius over to a chair, where the boy sat, wiping his hands on his robes. Harry looked through the window, the light coming from outside making his eyes seem brighter, and his scar more noticeable.

"Scorpius, I didn't want to have this conversation with you yet, but I think it's important to collect as much information as possible."

"I'll do all I can to help." He said, and before being able to stop himself, he added: "Is Uncle Greg dead?"

"Yes… yes he is. His wife isn't though, as she's on a business trip to France at the moment." Harry explained, trying to flatten his hair with one hand. He turned to face Scorpius, his eyes looking sad. "I don't know how much you know about your dad's participation in the Second Wizarding War…"

"I know more than enough." Scorpius grimaced, being constantly reminded of his Father's alleged cowardice by other students.

"I need to know… I mean, if you know. Did your father engage in any kind of discussions, or trades, or business over the summer with anyone…?"

"Well… he didn't go out much, to be honest. He just went to work and then back home." Scorpius explained, feeling that numb pain inside him again. He hated to talk about his parents ever since the Event, but he knew he had to do his best to help. "He didn't receive visits very often, either."

"What about your grandfather?"

"I don't know. My dad and he weren't on speaking terms when… when he passed away last summer." Scorpius heart was suddenly filled with sadness. "He didn't fancy much company, either… I'm sorry if I'm not of much help."

"It's alright; I know you're trying your best."

Scorpius sighed, thinking of his grandfather. He used to visit him and his grandmother a lot when he was younger, but since he had started at Hogwarts, he visited less and less, especially since his Father's relationship with his father had started to grow weak, everything since… since…

"Wait, there was one time they…" Scorpius suddenly recalled. Harry looked up again, interested. "The Christmas vacation before grandfather died… I heard them, Father and grandfather, arguing in the drawing room… I wasn't supposed to listen, but I heard something about You-Know-Who… Dad was blaming grandfather for everything that was happening to us… I don't really know what they were talking about, though."

Harry looked intently into the teenager's eyes, only to find them concentrated upon remembering more.

"Is there anything else you remember?"

"Not really… they stopped speaking after that. Grandmother tried to make them talk, but it was useless. Father told Mother that it was for the best… to cut relationships with those who could bring harm upon us…"

"DAD!" a girl's voice interrupted, and Lily Potter walked into the room, hugging her startled father. Scorpius looked uneasy.

"Hey, princess, how did you find us?" he asked with a smile, looking dearly into his only daughter's blue eyes.

"Marauder's Map." James walked into the room, throwing a dirty look at Scorpius before going in to briefly hug his dad as well. "What brings you here, old man?"

"Oh, just the usual." He answered. "Do you mind if I go downstairs with you? I'm seriously craving some of that amazing Shepherd's Pie…"

"No problem! I'll save you a seat!" Lily said, rushing to get there first. Harry looked over at Scorpius.

"Thanks for your information, Scorpius. I'll let you know if there's anything new."

Scorp nodded, ignoring the look of questioning in James' eyes. He followed them back to the Great Hall, and sat next to Albus again.

"Everything okay, mate?" Albus asked, eating what seemed like a second serving of shepherd's pie. Scorpius nodded, feeling uneasy. Next to him, Mr. Potter was serving himself a plate, but didn't seem concentrated into the task, too deep in his thoughts for anything else around him to matter.

* * *

><p><em>Well. That was it. I'm enjoying writing this a lot, so expect a few more updates in the next two weeks. I'm excited that a lot of people read the last chapter :D I just wish someone had taken the time to review, lol. Just a 'nice one!' or 'this sucks' will do, y'know? I will continue to update anyway, but feedback is always appreciated!<em>

_Hope you enjoy this one!_

_-Phankam_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: You know, I don't own HP. Boo._

…

"He woke up not so long ago." The Healer told Harry, leading him towards one of the rooms. "He's doing a lot better, but his heart is still weak… we've been giving him strengthening potions every two hours, but as soon as the time's up, it starts failing again."

"So you're not yet sure of what happened to him?" Harry asked.

"No… he doesn't remember, either. But don't worry, we'll find out. He just needs to stay here in case something comes up." The Healer stopped by the closed door, smiling a little bit. "It'll be okay, Harry."

"I know, Parvati… I know you'll do a great job, as always." He offered her a small smile that she returned. "How about O'Halloran and Nash?"

"She's doing much better now that we finally stopped the internal bleeding and used some blood replenishing potions, but she hasn't fully regained consciousness yet… and Nash, he's finally calmed down… the other young Auror couldn't identify what kind of curse he received, but it is very odd indeed. He was cut and burnt, and his brain was somehow affected as well… he's finally coming back to his senses, but he seemed to be disconnected from reality, like he was dreaming, but looked wide awake."

"I have no idea what happened to him." Harry shook his head. "Can I see them?"

"Teddy is right here." She finally opened the door, and Harry was greeted by his brown haired godson, who smiled.

"Sorry about this, Harry." He apologized, making his godfather laugh weakly. Parvati exited the room and closed the door behind her, leaving them alone.

"You scared the living daylights out of me." Harry accused, making the young man smile a bit wider. "It's not funny, Theodore, it was—"

"Theodore? That's not a name you call someone who's almost been killed!" Ted joked, like always. Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling again.

"What happened, Teddy? Did you see who attacked you?" Harry asked. The young Auror shook his head, frowning slightly.

"Last thing I remember is being outside with Heidi… she told me she was going back inside, and that's it. It was suddenly all dark and cold…"

Ted sounded weak, alarming Harry, but then managed another small smile.

"I've never felt like that before, to be honest. It felt as if I was going insane… I kept hearing voices and seeing things, and it hurt." He pointed towards his heart. "A lot. I don't know what happened."

"Dementors?" Harry wondered aloud, making his godson shake his head.

"No, it was different. It didn't feel as if I couldn't feel happy… just as if I was going insane. I heard someone crying, and grandma screaming…" Ted looked deep in thought for a second. "I'm not sure what happened. I've never heard of a spell like that."

"Me neither. He was a very strong wizard… used magic I've never seen before, that's for sure."

"It was a him? I would've sworn it was a woman." Ted's perplexity was evident in his green eyes, and his hair lit up to an unusual light green shade.

"I thought you didn't remember anything?"

"This is kind of embarrassing to admit… but…" Ted's hair changed very fast to a dark shade of blue, which Harry had learned to associate with sadness. He sat by his godson's bed, wondering whether he should pat his shoulder or not. The young man sighed. "The crying… the screaming I heard… it was my mother. You know I've seen her… in the Pensieve with you, the day I turned seventeen. It was definitely her voice. She sounded heartbroken… and there was dad's voice, as well. And as I said before, grandma was crying… but there was a fourth voice, and it was awful… it was a woman's laugh, and it felt as if it was happening right inside my ears, as if she was making fun of me… felt as if she, whoever she was, was invading my head, my thoughts, making me go insane—"

"Legilimency." Harry interrupted in a whisper. Ted looked taken aback.

"Could that be it? I never made eye-contact with anyone tho… of course, I'm not very good at Occlumency…"

"Don't feel bad, neither am I." Harry had a brief flashback of a curtain of greasy black hair and a hooked nose, but chose it ignore it instead, reminding himself that the owner of those ungraceful featured had had a huge participation in his win against Riddle so many years ago. "It does sound as if someone was meddling with your head… but, as I was saying before, the person who attacked Nash was most definitely a man."

"Maybe there were two of them?"

"It certainly is a possibility." Harry muttered, trying to make sense of the situation, but to no avail. Instead of finding an answer, he was startled by the sudden opening of the door, where a very distraught Heidi O'Halloran stood, breathing heavily.

"I know who it was." She said, one of her hands clutching her side, and a small trail of blood falling down the corner of her very pale lips. Harry jumped towards her and held her before she hit the ground, a pack of Healers rushing in, apparently having chased her down the corridor.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, kneeling besides her. She seemed to be slowly slipping into unconsciousness, but Harry signaled the Healers to stop coming towards them. "Heidi?"

"Stevens…" she whispered, her voice feeble. Her body was shaking, but still she was fighting to keep her eyes open. "Hunter…"

…

"Malfoy, try getting your head in the Scrimmage or you'll be cut from the team! I don't care how many Snitches you've caught in the past!" James roared from his broomstick as he watched the game he had organized develop. Scorpius glared, speeding away from him, looking for the small golden orb. The Seeker from the other team was a small second-year, and he wasn't about to lose his position to a 12-year-old.

"Nice one, Lily!" Albus congratulated his sister as she scored yet again, proving that maybe Albus wasn't the most talented Chaser in the Potter family. Scorpius smiled, and suddenly he saw something gold flashing somewhere to his left. He turned fast, and saw the Snitch, flying by the posts that were being guarded by a broad fourth-year boy whose name he wasn't sure of. He realized that the small Seeker boy was on the other side of the pitch, looking around him, oblivious to his sighting. He smirked and raced, securing the ball and feeling its tiny wings flutter inside his hand. He heard Potter blowing his whistle, and they all flew back to the middle of the field.

"Well. I've got our team. Our two Chasers will be Al and Lily…"

"Of course, they're his siblings." A bad-tempered looking curly-haired boy said.

"Shut up, McLaggen, you didn't even score once. Now leave." James said, looking down at his list. "Beaters will be Edie Macmillan and Daniel Wood. Our Keeper shall be Fred Weasley, and Seeker… well, Malfoy, you obviously outflew Geoffrey… so yeah, Malfoy is our Seeker. Training sessions begin Monday, usual time! See you there."

There was much muttering over the selection of the two Potter siblings, but James was paying no attention, too busy talking to Fred about the next Hogsmeade trip. Scorpius watched the rejected fourth-year Keeper leave the place, talking animatedly to the small Colin Creevey, the boy who had tried as Seeker against him.

"Nice catch." Albus commented, patting his shoulder as he caught up to him.

"Nice hundredth goal of the scrimmage." He joked, making the green-eyed boy laugh.

"Did you see Lily? She was amazing! She plays a lot like mum, of course."

"Did you expect to end up playing in a line with your two siblings?"

"Not really, to be honest, but it'll be exciting. When was the last time three siblings played together as Chasers on the same team?"

"You'll have to ask Rose, she's the one who ate Hogwarts: A History when she was 7."

"I heard that." Her voice sounded upset, but she was smiling. "And as a matter-of-fact, I have no idea, Al. Nice try-out, I told you James wouldn't leave you out of the team."

"He sure looked like he wanted to." Albus smiled as he let the words out. "I'm starving."

"That's news." Rose's sarcasm didn't go undetected. "It is lunchtime already… we can grab a bite and then get started on our History of Magic homework."

"Sounds like an amazing way to spend a Saturday!" Rose glared at his cousin, who tried to look innocent. "No, I seriously mean it, Rose! It's not like we could go play in the grounds or go fishing in the lake… studying sounds a lot better!"

"Shut it, Al!" she said, laughing. "Okay, we can relax today… but we'll study tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan." Scorpius didn't mind studying, but relaxing sounded like a lovely idea after the rough week he'd had. He saw a group of three exiting the castle as they approached, and his smile slowly faded when he saw it was Vince Goyle and two other Slytherins. Vince looked gloomy, and it wasn't hard to guess why.

Albus and Rose had noticed them too, but the three of them silently decided to keep on walking, ignoring the boys.

"Malfoy." He was surprised they were addressing him. They all stopped, facing each other. Goyle was the biggest of the three Slytherins. The other two were Nott and Macnair, the first small and skinny, and the second shorter but stronger-looking.

"What do you want?" Albus asked, trying hard to control his voice: Goyle wasn't too bad, but Nott and Macnair were usually amongst those who teased Scorpius every day.

"We're speaking to Malfoy, Potter." Macnair snapped in his raspy voice. Albus glowered at him, his hand finding his wand.

"It's okay, Al. What is it, Goyle?" he finally asked, looking into the other boy's eyes. He could see the pain hiding just behind those dark eyes, because he had gotten so used to seeing it in his own reflection every morning.

"Take this, and read it alone." Goyle looked at the roll of parchment he was carrying, and gave it to the confused blond. "I was told not to… but you deserve to know. Come on, guys."

The three of them left, not looking back at the Gryffindor trio. Albus was still holding his wand, but didn't look murderous anymore: he simply looked stunned.

"Well… that was strange." He sentenced, putting his wand away. They remained silent for a few seconds, just looking at the three boys walking away. Finally, Rose turned towards Scorpius, opening her mouth.

"Lunch." Scorpius reminded them before she asked about the message he had received, and she didn't press the matter further: he wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to share whatever it said with the cousins, not yet at least: the pain in Goyle's eyes had so mirrored the one in his heart that he thought, he supposed, he _knew_ he must read that alone. Albus and Rose were his world right now, but some things he knew he had to do alone.

He didn't speak much during lunch, and his friends didn't push him to do so either. He heard them discussing whether it would be a good idea to go fishing in the lake after eating, but wasn't catching on to much of the details: whatever it was, he would probably agree.

"Hello." A blonde girl approached them with a small smile. "How are you doing?"

"Hey, Anne." Albus replied immediately, smiling widely. Scorpius had to conceal his laughter in a coughing fit. Rose, on the other hand, suddenly seemed to have the urge to stab her food with vicious force. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"No, thank you. I was just wondering if I could borrow your Muggle Studies notes, Al… I seem to have lost mine."

"Sure, no problem. I don't have them with me right now, but I could bring them down for dinner."

"Oh… well, I was hoping to study during the day, but if you can't, that's okay." The girl said, throwing her long silvery blonde hair over her shoulder. Scorpius looked at her for a second, his mouth slightly agape, but was quickly kicked under the table by the red-haired girl. He snapped out of it, setting his grey eyes on Rose's blues, which seemed to be about to start shooting curses.

"I can get them from my room. I'll be right back!" Albus stood up quite abruptly, tripping over the bench and almost falling, making the people around them laugh a bit. He just ignored them and proceeded to jog down between the two tables.

"You can go back to your table, Annabelle. I'm sure Al will find you there." Rose said with a fake smile. The Hufflepuff girl smiled at her and left, sitting amongst her friends at the next table over.

"You look murderous." Scorpius noted, trying not to smile. Rose glared at him. "Hey, I'm not the one who ran like a puppy asked to fetch something."

"I can't stand that girl!" she snapped. Scorpius nodded. "She's so arrogant and full of herself and I hate how she gets everyone to do what she wants." He nodded again, knowing that he'd get an earful if he disagreed. "And Albus always falls for it, he's such a man! And even you got all stary-eyed when she did that stupid hair flip—"

"What can I say, little cousin? They say a nice behind draws more than a yoke of oxen." Fred said matter-of-factly as he sat on the seat that had just been vacated by Albus and started eating his food. "Right, James?"

"Sadly, it is true." The oldest Potter boy answered, sitting on Rose's other side. "Poor baby Al has fallen under the spell of the one-eighth Veela girl. I don't blame him though, I wouldn't mind getting a piece—"

"Shut up, James." Rose interrupted, elbowing her older cousin's side, making him laugh.

"Are you going to eat that?" Fred asked, looking at Rose's half finished plate, obviously done with Albus' lunch.

"Yes. Now please, go away!" she snapped. The two teenagers laughed, getting up and messing her hair before leaving. "Ugh, I hate them so much!"

"I can tell."

"Stop grinning, Scorpius Malfoy, it is NOT funny!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. But you should calm down, it's not that bad. Albus is usually very well behaved, and you don't have to see him drooling over her in Muggle Studies like I do, so you should be thankful."

"Like you don't drool as well." She expressed, frowning deeply. "Here he comes…"

Surely enough, Albus was back, carrying his Muggle Studies notes. He went straight to the Hufflepuff table, where Annabelle greeted him with a huge smile. She stood up to talk to him, and Rose was glaring at them from her place.

"Rose, you should calm down…"

"If that bimbo hurts him, I will curse the magic out of her." She muttered, her ears as red as every time she was angry.

"Al knows how to take care of himself." Scorpius said, looking over his shoulder at his friend, who was still talking to the Hufflepuff girl, who was laughing very graciously. He had to admit the girl was probably the best-looking girl in their year but just because of her heritage: she just stunned people with her beauty in a way that came out as unnatural. Finally Albus made his way to the Gryffindor table, a wide grin across his face.

"Why so happy? Did your jog up the stairs brighten up your day?" Rose asked snarkily.

"I invited Annabelle to go to Hogsmeade with me." He announced, sitting by her again. "And she said yes."

Scorpius decided it was a good time to go back to eating and day-dreaming so he wouldn't have to consciously put up with Rose's complaints.

…

"He's living in London, it shouldn't be too hard to find him." Hermione told him, closing her office's door. Harry nodded, looking down at his half-empty bottle of Butterbeer. "Are you sure he's involved?"

"One of the Aurors injured, Heidi O'Halloran, says she recognized him. He was in Hogwarts at the same time as Ted, just a couple of years above."

"Hufflepuff, according to the school's records." She added, pointing at the piece of parchment on her desk. Harry picked it up and read it, his eyes tired. "Have you slept?"

"Not much, really. It's been crazy, with Ted in the hospital and this whole fiasco…"

"Is Teddy doing better?"

"Yeah, they put him on some Muggle medicine that seems to be doing well to his heart… they're still not sure what happened, but as long as he's getting better…" he sounded doubtful, and his friend was quick to pick that up.

"But…?"

"It's just disheartening, whoever these people are, they seem to be extremely skilled, and what they did to Ted, Heidi and Matt… I don't know, Hermione, it's very strange. This is exactly why I want to find Hunter Stevens myself to see if we can find something that will lead us to the bottom of this."

"We'll find him, Harry. We won't let this go further."

"Thanks. I appreciate your help. Just like when we were younger." He said, smiling. Hermione laughed, the corners of her eyes showing small wrinkles, the proof that they no longer were 17.

"Ron told me you went to Hogwarts a few days ago." She commented, waving her wand towards the muggle coffee-maker in the corner.

"I went to talk to Goyle's son personally, and coincidentally got to talk to Scorpius as well."

"Rose is mad worried about him." Hermione sighed. "She says he's acting almost too normal for what happened…"

"I can't believe Malfoy is dead." Harry stated, shaking his head. "I talked to him the morning of that same day he and Astoria were killed. He was planning a family vacation to some beach in France before Scorpius went back to school. He asked me if I'd let Albus come along with them… he hadn't told Scorpius about it when we spoke, but I told him that if Al wanted to go with them, he was allowed to. It seems like such a normal thing to speak about… not in a million year I would've thought he'd die just a few hours later."

"I've grown to be quite fond of Scorpius… Ron doesn't agree, of course, but I like the boy. He's very polite and gentle, not at all like Draco was when we were in school."

"Astoria made sure her only child was protected and kept away from anything too dodgy. By talking to him I realized he has no much real idea of what Draco did and didn't do, nor about Lucius Malfoy's works either. He was just kept in a small perfect world… he barely has one recollection of his father arguing with his grandfather, and even of that he doesn't know much. I meant to speak to Narcissa about it, but Andromeda said she hadn't been too well lately…"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Hermione waved her wand to open it, greeting her husband with a smile that wasn't returned.

"Are you okay, Ron?" she asked, standing up. Ron walked into the room, closing the door behind him. His face looked almost disgusted.

"He left." He spat, shaking his head. "Conway left. He left his cubicle, took all his things. He didn't even bother with resigning, he just disappeared."

"Are you serious?" Harry's heart sank. He didn't particularly like Conway, but the young Auror was surely skilled and experienced, not to mention his leadership qualities. "I'll go find him. I'll send you a Patronus if I need you."

"I'll go with you." Ron held his friend's arm.

"Me too." Hermione added, holding Harry's free arm.

"Just like old times, eh?" Harry joked, but he was deeply grateful for his friends' constant presence over the last 30 years.

…

_Hey! This is probably the last update in a while, but that doesn't mean I'll stop writing! Classes start again on Monday so I'll be really busy again, but I won't abandon this story: I'm having way too much fun writing it!_

_I hope you liked this one, and I'll be waiting for your reviews, eh? :P_

_-Phankam_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Just my OCs :)._

* * *

><p>He felt only slightly guilty for taking James' invisibility cloak, but it was the only idea he could come up with. He felt his heart beat against his ribcage and inside his ears, and every sound he made seemed like a stampede running through the empty corridors. It wasn't the first time he navigated the school at night, but it was the first time without Albus by his side: somehow, the Potter boy gave him courage he felt like he otherwise lacked.<p>

"_You're a coward, Scorpius Malfoy." _He muttered under his breath, turning a corner and stopping, straining his ears to see if he could hear voices, still half convinced it was all a prank to get him in trouble.

His hand flew towards his wand faster than he realized he had heard footsteps: soon enough, a tall boy emerged from the opposite side of the corridor, and entered one of the classrooms. Scorpius hastened his step and entered before the door was closed.

He could name a few of the boys inside the room, but most of them were strangers to him. They were all at least fourth years, most of them Slytherins, although there were two Ravenclaws he recognized, and a lone Hufflepuff.

"It's time." He could tell the voice belonged to the oldest of the boys. He looked around the room with sharp blue eyes. "Is there anyone missing?"

"Malfoy isn't here yet." Goyle announced, oblivious to the fact that Scorpius was standing right behind him.

"Who cares about the cowardly rat." Evan Sanders spat, his light brown hair obscuring his eyes.

"Shut it, Sanders." Goyle roared. "You are in no position to look down upon us, you barely belong here."

Sanders looked taken aback for a second, but regained composure right away. The oldest boy, clearly the leader of the pack, rolled his eyes before continuing.

"We all know why we're here. The Dark Lord fell ages ago, but his legacy continues to haunt us. We knew this day was coming, the day our parents told us about, the day they were warned about: the End of the Beginning is here."

Whispers started around them, and Scorpius was confused.

"They're not trying to hide anymore. The ministry can't go on pretending all these deaths aren't linked, not with the way the Malfoys were slaughtered, not with the way Goyle's father was murdered. There are six people dead so far, three by seemingly natural causes, and three by the End of the Beginning's own hands."

No one asked questions, everyone obviously in on the unspoken information. Scorpius remained sunk in his confusion, unwilling to give away his presence by voicing his doubts.

"What are we supposed to do?" a female voice asked, startling everyone around. The girl had the same sharp eyes the leader had, but her features were softened by her long honey-colored hair

"We're safe while we're at Hogwarts, Bella."

"So they're going into hiding, aren't they?" one of the Ravenclaws asked, and Scorpius recognized his raspy voice, but couldn't remember his name.

"Our parents will. Bella and I will remain at Hogwarts during breaks, and depending on what happens…"

"Do you think they'll stop them?" Goyle interrupted, his eyes full of sorrow.

"The Aurors? Unlikely. There's no stopping the End of the Beginning."

…

"This doesn't look too good." Hermione commented as they walked into an old London apartment through it's broken door. Inside, there was chaos. Harry took a step forward, waving his wand.

"There's no one here… and I don't feel traces of magic either. Keep your wands at the ready, just in case. I don't want another incident like last time…"

Ron and Hermione nodded, and followed Harry, their eyes taking the scene in, the place looking as if it had been searched.

"Conway?" Harry asked out loud, knowing no one should answer. He was the first to the small bedroom, and he gasped.

"What happened?" Ron arrived in the room first, and saw the blood spluttered across the walls immediately. "Do you think he's…"

"The blood stops right there." Hermione said, her voice slightly shaky as she wasn't used to this sort of work anymore. "He apparated away."

"Or someone took him side-along. Attacked him, dragged him and took him." Ron sighed, shaking his head. "But then, who took his things?"

"Someone looked through his belongings." Harry nodded at the open desk drawers, papers of different sizes and colors fighting their way out. "Did anyone actually see him leaving the office?"

"Not one soul. I was the one who realized his things were gone, but as I asked around, no one saw him."

"How about his team? Maybe they know where he is?" Hermione suggested, but Harry shook his head.

"He's the leader of Teddy's team, and they're all at the hospital. Conway was the only one not injured in the last attack."

"Do you reckon these End of the Beginning fellows have anything to do with him?"

"I guess we'll have to pay Hunter Stevens a visit."

…

"Scorp, you okay? You've been awfully quiet today." Albus said as he munched on his toast. Scorpius nodded, not really paying attention. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just… tired." He couldn't hold back a sigh. He hadn't been sleeping well, not since the secret meeting he had been to two days ago. He kept on eating his cereal, well aware that Albus was still staring at him. "Al, it's starting to get creepy. Stop looking at me like that."

"Cheer up. We get to jinx some Slytherins today, that's bound to make you feel better!"

"What are you even talking about?"

"Vaughn's class, remember? Duelling technique, making up spells as we go? Doesn't that sound delightful?"

"Sure does." Scorpius looked around, just noticing someone was missing in their usual spot down the Gryffindor table. "Where's Rose?"

"I don't know, she's been acting mad since Saturday. D'you reckon it's because of Anne?"

"It's most likely because of that." Scorpius chuckled. "She hates that girl."

"She's just jealous because Anne is pretty and popular, and she's—"

"—I'm what exactly, Albus?"

The black haired teenager stopped talking right away, his whole face turning a violent shade of red. His cousin sat next to him, slamming the book she was carrying on the table and getting herself some toast and pumpkin juice.

"I think what you meant to say is that I am incredibly smart, and a genuinely nice person." She said after a while, smiling smugly.

"Your modesty is appalling, baby Rose." James said, stealing the girl's toast. "Hey, ponytail."

"That's mine!" the girl protested, trying to get her breakfast back.

"What do you want, James?" Albus' good mood faded right away as he glared at his older brother.

"Just here to say hello, see how my baby brother is doing." James shrugged, sitting next to Scorpius. "Hey, Malfoy. It's actually you I wanted to talk to."

Scorpius tensed in his seat as he felt James' wand poking him on the side.

"If you dare take my things again, I will hex your into the next galaxy, am I clear?"

"What are you even talking about?" Albus raised an eyebrow.

"I found a blonde hair in my invisibility cloak—"

"Dad's invisibility cloak." Albus corrected. "That you stole."

"Inherited. Anyway, no one else in Gryffindor has that shade of pee blonde hair, Malfoy. I don't know what you're up to, but I will hex you, no hesitation. Are we clear?"

"Just piss off, James." Scorpius rolled his eyes, not knowing what else he could possibly do. James stood up and left with Fred, who was waiting for him just a few seats down.

"Why could you possibly want to take dad's cloak?" Albus laughed. "My brother is going insane. He even has a blonde-haired roommate, it could be anyone."

"Well, Scorpius sure seemed guilty when James accused him." Rose interrupted, frowning. "What are you up to, Scorp?"

"It's none of your business."

"We're your friends. You can trust us." She put her hand on top of Scorpius', hoping to instill some trust in him, but the boy didn't budge.

He barely understood what this 'End of the Beginning' thing was about, he was not about to talk about it with his friends.

Apparently, every other person in that room knew what was being talked about, and it felt like their families kept them in the know. Why would Scorpius' father keep him out of it? Did he even know what was coming?

With his father gone, he'd never know.

"AL! ROSIE! Grandma Molly sent you these." She gave each of the cousins a small box of chocolates, and then gave one to Scorpius. "There's one for you too, Scorpius."

"What for?"

"I don't know, grandma always send us stuff." Albus shrugged, letting the subject drop.

Grandma…

Of course.

His Grandmother would know. If there was someone in the family who knew everything, that would be Narcissa Malfoy.

…

"Why would they take the life of one of their own?" Ron asked, shaking his head as a team of Aurors looked around the room for any more clues. In the middle, there was a tall, blonde man laying sprawled on the floor, a trail of blood coming from the side of his mouth. If it wasn't for that little fact, it would've seemed as if he had fallen asleep.

"I don't know…" Harry sighed, confused. The only clue they had, and now it was gone.

"Sir, we found a piece of parchment with a note." An Auror alerted, giving the piece to the Head of Aurors.

"'_They know_'… that's all there is." Harry looked at Ron, confused. "Someone knew we were coming for Stevens. How could they possibly know?"

"Maybe they have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic." The same Auror who had found the parchment suggested. "Sir, should we take the body?"

"Yes please. I'll see you all in Headquarters in fifteen, clear?"

They all Disapparated in a swirl of cloaks, leaving the two friends standing alone.

"This is getting out of control, Ron. We need more information. We have three injured Aurors, and one of our captains has disappeared. Four people have died already."

"And no one seems to have any ideas. What the bloody hell are we going to do… is there someone we haven't spoken to?"

"With the exception of Stevens, it seems as if the fallen are ex-Death Eaters…"

"It's almost as if You-Know-Who is back to haunt us—I'm sorry, I meant to say Voldemort, it's just an old habit." Ron corrected himself immediately at Harry's frown. "Well, let's go find those Death Eaters, shall we?"

"We'll pay Teddy a visit first… I need to see how Matt and Heidi are doing as well. Could you do that for me, Ron?"

Ron nodded, and Disapparated away. Harry stood in silence, running a finger through his scar. It hadn't ached in so many years, but he could remember the pain as if it was just a few seconds ago. In his youth, it was the Death Eaters who destroyed and killed, and now they seemed to be dropping like flies. Was there someone after them? Was this some type of revenge?

The End of the Beginning…

He had to speak to the only Malfoy who could give him some answers. Andromeda would have to deal with his visit, because there was no time to waste.

…

"They think you've been kidnapped." Said one of them, hidden under the shadows of his hood. "You've been a good actor, Conway, but there was no use in wasting you with the Aurors… we need you with us."

"I've played my part perfectly, and my disappearance seemed to convince them." The blue-eyed Auror said with a slight smile.

"Leaving a trail of your own blood was a nice touch." The one standing right next to Conway said, slapping the shorter man's shoulder. "Stevens could've ruined it all, though."

"I took care of Stevens." The first one said, smiling. "Well, he took care of himself, really. It wasn't much of a hustle. He knew it had to be done."

"What a fool for letting himself be seen." Another one added in a loud voice, shaking his head. "Could've been our end…"

"Stevens was just a pawn. We're much bigger than that." A woman said, cocking his head to the side. "We are much better than that. We're unstoppable."

"There's still so many more people to get rid of. We'll rid the Wizarding World of the scum that acted as if they owned the place."

"What about Harry Potter? He'll eventually find out. He's no idiot." The woman said, frowning. "Neither are his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

"I'll take care of them." Said the one standing next to Conway, smiling slightly.

"The Weasel is mine." Conway interrupted, frowning. "We already agreed to that."

"We haven't agreed to anything, Conway. We must not kill the Golden Trio unless strictly necessary. Their blood won't be shed unless they get their noses too deep into our business."

"The Weasel is a pureblood though. Doesn't that mean he gets special treatment as well?" The woman asked.

"Everyone knows the Weasleys are blood traitors." The loud one announced, shrugging. "No need to rid the world of them, they've always been supportive of our cause."

"All I'm saying, is that if it comes down to it… Ron Weasley is mine."

* * *

><p><em>Well… it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I hit a wall and couldn't keep on writing for a long time. I hope you enjoy this short update, and I'm going to keep on working so I can start updating more often!<em>

_Thanks for the reviews!_

_-phankam._

BHS 5


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